


Fly Around in Circles

by dannihowell (iguessicantry)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 15:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7623955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iguessicantry/pseuds/dannihowell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan moves into Uni and finds that his new roommate is Phil, his ex-boyfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fly Around in Circles

# Chapter One

“There isn’t enough space in here, Mum.”

“Daniel, everyone is going. You’re going to have to deal with us embarrassing you,” his mother Elena replied, turning the key to their huge family van. Dan was moving into his University and both of his parents insisted on bringing the entire family which included his older sister, Cara, his younger brother Adriano and his twin brother Gabriel who wouldn’t be moving into his own halls until the week after. Dan wanted him there but not the others, as they would just complain the entire time. He wanted to spend a few hours with Gabriel before they were separated by distance. It would be the first time in their entire lives that they would be separated for more than a few days.

Daniel sighed and sat back in the seat preparing for the two hour journey. His sister rolled her eyes at him, swatting his arm playfully. Gabriel turned to him and gave him a sympathetic smile. He smiled back and told him, “I wish you were going here too.”

“Same but they don’t offer law degrees here. You had to choose the artsy kind of school didn’t you?”

“It’s my fault?” he sputtered incredulously. “You couldn’t be normal and choose something fun to study. You had to choose law?”

“Hey! Law paid for that house you love so much,” his mother, Samantha said.

“So did medicine. Your brother wanted to try a more traditional route and that’s perfectly reasonable,” Elena piped in.

“Good on you, Dan. Be a little different and live a little,” Cara told him without even looking up from his phone.

“We don’t want you giving anyone any advice, Cara.”

She rolled her eyes for the second time in one minute and kept quiet. This would be a long day if they started fighting this early.

“I’m sure you’ll love it there, Danny.”

“Thanks, Gabe.”

“Sure thing.”. He would miss him so much. As different as their interests were, the two boys were the best of friends. While Dan loved the arts, playing several instruments, writing for hours at a time and acting in plays, Gabriel was the math and science type. He liked the more rigid subjects and excelled in them but he couldn’t memorize an act of Shakespeare like Dan could. So even after piano lessons and finishing up biology lab reports, the two of them would play video games for hours or go out with their friends. Gabriel Howell was the angel child and the other children knew it. It’s not that he meant to, it’s just that Cara was rebellious and Dan was a free spirit. Adriano was still too young but he didn’t show the same signs of promise that Gabe did. Cara resented Gabe for it, liking Dan more than his twin. Their mothers tried their hardest not to show favourites but it was hard to miss. Anytime something went array in their home, the main suspects were Cara and Dan. Despite this, Dan still liked his brother. It wasn’t his fault he shared common interests with their parents and he made them proud.

They were an upper middle class family living in southern England. Their mother, Samantha was a lawyer while Elena was a hospital director. They had met when a client wanted to sue the hospital for wrongful death. Elena took Sam out to dinner and the rest was history. They had decided to have their own children instead of adopting. Adriano and the twins were Elena’s and Cara was Samantha’s. They used the same donor for all four children so they would be siblings by law and by blood. Cara did have a very different appearance than her brothers with naturally reddish-brownish hair and grey eyes. The boys all had dark brown hair and brown eyes like their mother Elena. She had Spanish roots, complete with olive skin and wavy black hair.

They arrived at the University; it had a classic look of brick and mortar buildings and excellent gardens. They all piled out, everyone grabbing a box or bag to take to Dan’s new room. Dan went to the help desk for incoming students to get his room key and saw a girl in the corner of his eye that he recognized. He wasn’t sure if she was really who he thought she was, so he went back to his family and led them to his room which was located on the second floor. Taking the lead, Dan led them to Room 2022, where he was met with a quite a sight, three teenage girls bickering while a slightly older boy tried to calm them. Dan knew who the girl was when he heard, "Control your sisters! I won’t be around to do it anymore.”

“Phil, you’re still the oldest! Really, I think– who is that? Dan?” she said, causing the other girls to stop fighting and for Phil to turn around.

“Dan?”

Dan stood there seething. “What are you doing here?” he replied angrily.

“I live here if you couldn’t tell by my name on the door. Are you the Daniel they placed in here?”

“Damn it! Of all the people, it had to be you!”

Phil raised his eyebrow, taken aback by Dan’s anger. “I’m guessing that’s a yes. We’re roommates this year.”

“No fucking way!”

“Daniel! Watch your language,” Elena scolded. “What’s the problem?”

“He’s my ex-boyfriend. I never wanted to see him again.”

“Same,” Phil spat back.

“Oh no,” Tania and Gabe said together.

They had dated for months in high school, before Phil’s family moved up north so his dad could get a better job. Phil’s family was just as large as Dan’s though they were not as well off. Phil was the oldest of the four and when he came to moving into the student halls that morning, all three sisters came along to see him off. They were all younger and bickered constantly. He loved them though. They were all so different from him. Phil was the quiet, thoughtful type while all his sisters were loud, jovial attention seekers. All the Lester children were named from Shakespeare’s plays, some strange method of choosing names that their mum, an English teacher had chosen. Tatiana, Ophelia and Cordelia were very much a trio, never leaving each other for too long. They were born in succession, one right after the other so that they were all born with in the same two year span. Tania was two years younger than Phil and a bit closer to him, so seeing him off was very important to her. When she saw Dan downstairs she couldn’t believe it was him, so she didn’t say anything. Now that he was standing in front of them, along with his family, she knew for certain was him, especially when made it known that he was not at all happy with the room assignments.

“Dan, I didn’t know you had a boyfriend,” Samantha said in surprise.

“That’s because you’re never home! It doesn’t matter anyway, I hate him.”

“Dan, we can go downstairs and ask for a change in rooms,” Gabe suggested trying to calm down his brother. Dan huffed and spun around to leave the room. Phil’s sister let out a gasp at his rudeness and looked to their brother for an explanation. Phil said nothing.

***

“Since we are stuck together, we need to lay down a few ground rules,” Dan said curtly.

“I agree. First, no drinking in here. I don’t want to get caught with that stuff because you can’t control yourself.”

“Oh really? I’m not the one who–,”

“Shut up! Next, no overnight visitors without eight hours’ notice. Especially guys,” Phil said pointedly.

“Same goes for you… unless you’re into girls now too. Did you change your mind about that?”

“No,” he sighed and continued typing the roommate agreement on his laptop. “What the hell are you even talking about?”

Dan stayed quiet, glaring from his bed.

After they made a list of rules, on including a warning system to alert the other of bedroom activities, they began to unpack. Their families had left, leaving them alone in the small dorm room that they could not switch out of, no matter how much Dan begged the resident director.

***

During the next few weeks, classes began and Phil was unlucky enough to have classes at eight in the morning. Dan decided that Phil’s classes were not as important as his sleep patterns so turned off his alarm after he’d already gone to bed. Phil had been late to first year English four times before he picked up on what Dan was doing to him. To counter, he simply started using his phone instead (which required a code to unlock); using a Nicki Minaj ringtone as the alarm and pressing snooze three time before actually getting up. Dan bought ear plugs to deal with him.

They barely spoke and when they did, it became a shouting match. One Sunday in November, Dan ripped Phil’s head phones off his head to tell him to ‘get off his lazy arse,’ and clean the room. Phil was messy and that was the nice way of putting it.

 "Oh, fuck off. I don’t have to do anything you say.“ Dan’s eye widened at the use of the swear word. When he’d known Phil previously he always blushed every time Dan said anything remotely inappropriate. That’s was a few years ago though, and they were younger, so he shook away the shock and focused. Their room was an absolute mess. Phil’s socks lay strewn all over; his drawers were in various states of open, some overflowing with clothes.

"You’re making my itch. You’re so damn disgusting,” he spat, throwing a sock at him.

“You’re one to talk. You fuck a new guy every night.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Every night when I come back from lecture, you have the tape on the door knob. It’s gone by the time I come back at eight.”

“Oh, you think I’ve been shagging every guy around here, huh? I’m not you, Phil.”

Phil ignored the back handed insult and asked, “What have you been doing if not that?”

“Nothing,” he smirked. “I just wanted to get away from you.”

“You… you… you bitch!”

“Excellent come back, top notch,” Dan remarked sarcastically.

“Why do you still hate me so much?”

“You know why!”

“No, I don’t! We were dating one day then the next you broke up with me, saying things I didn’t even understand.”

“Fuckin—Gabe!”

“What does he have to—“

“You tried to hook up with him. My brother! Did you think he wouldn’t tell me about it?”

Phil stood there stunned and unmoving, speechless.

 

# Chapter Two

Phil opened his mouth then shut it again. He couldn’t believe what Dan had just told him.

“I never tried to hook up with Gabe. The last time I saw him was Cara’s party. The one that you all got in trouble for. I tried calling but your mum said you were grounded or something and three days later you told me you never wanted to talk to me again.”

“That’s when it happened! Were you too drunk to remember? I can’t even look at you!” Dan stormed out of the room, into the autumn cold with only his sweatshirt. He was half across the field outside their dormitory when Phil caught up to him. He grabbed his arm and Dan ripped himself away walking faster still. There was frost on the ground so he didn’t want to run.

“Dan! You don’t know what happened that night!”

“You cheated on me! Well, you tried. You couldn’t even do that right,” Dan said sharply.

Phil jumped on his back and brought him down to the ground, immediately straddling him and pinning him down to the cold grass. “No, the last time I saw you was when I found you too drunk to even walk straight. I put you in bed and kissed you before I left. Nothing else happened. What did he tell you?!”

“Gabe says you tried to get him into bed!”

“And? He said I kissed him? I thought it was you. Oh god…”

“Oh god,”

“So, this is why we stopped dating? I thought Gabe was you.”

“Are you shitting me right now?”

“No, do you remember what you two looked like when we were fifteen? I couldn’t tell you apart except you always wore darker colors. It was too dark that night and I do admit, I had a lot to drink.”

“I’ll kill him!”

“Do you ever just have a calm moment? Ever?”

Dan breathed through his nose and took a deep breath, exhaling audibly. “I missed you,” he admits. Phil smiled and kissed him.

“I missed you too.”

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?”

Phil nodded and moved off him slowly, not wanting to get up quite yet. He rose to his feet and put out his hand to help Dan up off the ground. Their faces were now only a few centimeters apart and Dan leaned in for another kiss right as Phil pulled away. Dan saw the look on his face, a mixture of regret and realization, and tried to get Phil’s attention.

“I’m so sorry about everything I said to you… and about you. God, Alana is going to be so annoying when she hears about this.”

“Oh? You still talk to her? I’ve haven’t heard from Al in years.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that too. I’m sort of the reason why she hates you. I told her you cheated on me with my brother and she kind of has a vendetta against you.”

“I never saw her as the angry type.”

“It’s pretty scary to be honest,” he chuckled.

“Oh. We’ve lived together for two months now and I don’t know anything about you. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“I have time.”

They walked back to the room together, both trying incredibly hard not to take the other’s hand. The urge was strong.

They sat up all night talking about everything that had happened since they broke up. Dan learned that Phil had a current boyfriend named Eli who was very good looking, very smart and Scottish. In other words, he was perfect. Dan never got over the betrayal that Phil had supposedly caused and had remained single for the past couple of years.

“What’s he like?”

“He’s nice. He’s going to another Uni 45 minutes from this one. My sisters tried to steal him from me but my dad told them off.”

“They would,” he chuckled. “How are they? Last time I saw Tania, she was twelve. Delia was only ten and tiny.”

“They’re okay. Crazy as ever but I love them.”

A comfortable silence fell over them and it felt like they were fifteen again, sitting in Dan and Gabe’s room. Phil saw that the sun was coming up and climbed into bed whilst Dan did the same. They looked over at each other, staring for a bit before Phil’s eyelids droop and close. Dan followed him into slumber soon after.

—————-

Dan was coming back from the dining hall after lunch one day when he overheard Phil on the phone, seemingly upset. He was just about to knock when he heard Phil say, “I can’t change rooms. We tried that months ago. Babe, I can’t— what? What do you mean…? You can’t trust me?!”

Dan knew he should not have been listening, but he just pressed his ear up against the door.

“Oh… S’okay…Yeah, come over. There’s a party this weekend… Friday. I live in Knight Hall, room 2022. See you… Love you too.”

Dan knocked on the door. Hard. He pushed it open to find Phil flustered and putting his phone on the desk and running his finger through his black hair.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Um… Eli is coming on Friday. Do you mind if he stays overnight. Promise we won’t do anything.”

“No, it’s fine. Where will he sleep though?”

“Uh… with me.”

“Oh right.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

——–

It was Friday night and they were all out together at a house party near campus. Eli made a good impression on Dan. He was as gorgeous as Phil described him and he was nice like he said. They got to the house and Dan offered to get them both drinks from the cooler on the back porch. When he returned, Eli had his hands in Phil’s back pockets. He was whispering something in his ear causing Phil to blush furiously. Dan didn’t bother interrupting them. In his mind, if they wanted drinks they could fucking get it themselves.

Phil didn’t notice when Dan didn’t come back. He didn’t notice when Dan downed three cans of beer in an hour and he didn’t notice when Dan went upstairs with some guy. He and Eli had been making out and whispering dirty thing to each other all night so eventually Phil needed to go the toilet. He hadn’t had that much to drink so he was more alert than most of the other people there. He asked a random girl where he could find the bathroom and she pointed upstairs. He thanked her and made his way up the dark staircase. The music was muffled but the bass heavy. He went to the bathroom and on his way back downstairs he heard muffled voices then a clear shout. “Get off!”

Phil paused for a moment, not sure of what to do exactly. It was a male voice and it was slurred.

“No! Let me—Stop!”

The voices grow louder and louder so he ran to the bedroom door on the far end of the hallway. He pushed it open to see Dan being held down by a larger man.

“Get off him now!”

“Oi, he was asking for it!” the man said jumping off the bed.

“He said no! I could hear him over the music. You bastard!”

“Phil? He was… he was trying—“

“I know, Dan. Come on,” he said running over to him and helping him off the bed. Dan was shirtless. His belt buckle was undone and his fly open. Phil help him get dressed quickly to spare his dignity. Unfortunately, while he was attending to Dan, the man who had just tried to take advantage of him was long gone.

“We’re going home now. Okay?”

Dan nodded and Phil helped him down the stairs. Dan tripped over his own feet, the alcohol still impairing his vision, cognition and balance. Eli saw them come down and asked Phil a slew of questions. What happened? Where was he all this time? Why did Dan look like he had just…?”

Phil shook his head and told him, “We’ll talk later. We need to get back to the room. He needs to sleep this off.”

They walked back to the university, getting there about ten minutes later. With Eli’s help, Dan stayed on his feet as he clung to Phil. They got into the room and Phil put Dan to bed, laying him on top of his duvet. When he turned away to get the painkillers and some water for him, he woke up. Dan opened his eyes and cried out to him.

“Phil! Help me!”

“It’s okay. Nothing happened. You’re back with me, okay?”

“I thought no one would hear me,” he sobbed.

He hushed him and held his face as Eli stood behind them watching the entire scene.

“I was so scared… he wouldn’t get off me! What if…”

“I know. I know. But you are safe. Eli and I brought you home. It’s time you went to bed. Sleep it off, yeah?”

“Thank y-you, Phil. Love y…”

Dan closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly. Phil looked at him confusedly because he didn’t catch that last part and he was certain that is he woke Dan to ask him about it, he wouldn’t get a clearer response. Meanwhile, Eli tapped Phil on the shoulder to tell, “I’m gonna go now, alright?”

“It’s two in the morning and you’re supposed to stay over. Where are you going?”

“Back to my Uni.”

“Why? Now?”

“Yeah. I should go. He needs you more than I do.”

“He’ll be okay.”

“No, I mean. He’s in love with you and I can tell you love him too…”

“We practically grew up together! I love him but not the way you think.”

“Phil, I love you and I think this is what I need to do. I want the best for you and he’s it. You’ll be happier, trust me.”

“Are we breaking up?”

“I guess that’s what you could call it. Good luck.” He picks up his bag and walks towards the door. He looks back and says, “Turn him over so he doesn’t choke on his tongue or something. Don’t want anything else to happen to him.”

“Thanks,” he said softly.

With one last kiss on his lips, Eli bids him a wordless good bye.

——-

The next morning, Dan threw up and Phil helped him up from the toilet and gave him the pain killers and water for his hangover. He slept most of the day and it wasn’t until Phil begged him to eat a little supper that he asked where Eli was. Phil simply shrugged and shook his head.

“He isn’t here. We… um… broke up.”

“Really? What happened?”

“He said that I… love you more than I love him and he left.”

“ _Do_ you love me? Even after everything?”

“I never stopped loving you, Dan. I just tried to move on since you wouldn’t even talk to me.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

“What?”

“I just told you I loved you and all you can say is ‘oh’?”

“I don’t know what to say.”

Phil got up from his bed and grabbed his coat.

“When you figure that out, call me. I’m going out.” The door slams shut and Dan winces in pain because the pills haven’t kicked in yet.

Dan sat in the room by himself, in the silence, and suddenly an image came through his mind. He couldn’t remember what it was but he was overcome with a sudden feeling of helplessness. His breathing became harder and then it came through. He was in the dark room and someone his didn’t know was on top of him, stripping him. He remembered that no matter how much he said **_stop_** , they didn’t. He couldn’t find the strength to fight.

“Phil!” he shouted into the room. “Phil! Help!”

No one heard him this time. When Phil returned two hours later, he found Dan on the floor and the room a mess.

“Help me…”

—————-

 

# Chapter Three

Dan laid there whimpering and sobbing on the floor and Phil ran to him to help him up. When he asked what happened, Dan couldn’t give him an answer. He didn’t seem to know himself. All he said was, “He wouldn’t get off me.”

Phil told him about the previous night, about the attempt made by a random stranger. He told Dan that he had a lot to drink and he couldn’t fight him off. He told Dan how he came in because he heard him shout for him to get off. He told him how he dressed him and how he and Eli helped him home. Dan remained silent but Phil could see that he was shaken up, literally. The thought of what could have happened, the almost, was terrifying for both of them.

“I need to stop drinking.”

“I think that’s a good idea. This was not your fault though, Dan.” Phil pulled him into his lap as they sat on the rug of their room and rubbed his arm to comfort him. “You said no, loud and clear. Your being drunk gave him no right to try that with you.”

Dan sniffled and nodded in agreement. He seemed to be calming just a little because everything was clearer now. The images of the last night were vibrant as the days. He didn’t feel as frightened anymore. The element of the unknown removed from the situation. Phil tried to convince him to report the assault but Dan refused. He didn’t want to keep reliving the story, having to retell it over and over again. He felt ashamed for letting himself go like that. He knew it wasn’t his fault but at the end of the day he felt that he should have been more careful.

No one but Phil ever knew about the incident and Dan felt indebted to him for saving him and for keeping his secret.

—————–

When the end of the year came in June, the two boys were best friends again, the way they were in high school before they had started dating. Dan’s mother noted it on the way home, “You see, it all worked out and see you’ll be rooming together again next term.”

“Yeah, he’s great,” he smiled.

This time it was only Samantha and his sister helping him move. When they were leaving Dan hugged Phil good-bye and Cara nudged him, raising her brow in suspicion. He shook his head and pursed his lips trying to tell her to leave them alone. Cara was his big sister and wanted the best for him. Growing up, she was always the one who got her siblings in and out of trouble. Adriano was ten years younger than her so he wasn’t much of issue but the twins were another story. From helping them both sneak out to see a concert when they sixteen to finding Dan’s stash of weed or Gabe’s extra key to the liquor cabinet and taking both away from them. She wished her mothers focused on Gabe’s bad habits like they did Dan’s but he was much better at hiding his. All the same, her brothers were her responsibility and she had saved their butts on more than one occasion. Cara knew them well enough to read their emotions and she knew Dan was in love again.

“You should invite him on our holiday. We can take on one more person. Right, mum?”

“Oh that’s a nice idea Cara. Yes, Daniel. Would you like Phil to come to Casita with us?”

“I don’t know,” he said glaring at his sister in the front seat. She watched him in the rearview mirror and laughed to herself. “We were already taking Alana. Do you want two extra people to worry about?”

“It’s not as bad as you make it seem.”

“We’re all adults except for Adriano—“

“You? You’re an adult?”

“Y’know what? Let’s not start, Dan. You should call him right now before he makes other plans.”

“I agree. Call him now.”

Dan inwardly groaned and took out his phone. He did want Phil to come along. It would be an amazing holiday if he did but he knew he would have a hard time. He and Phil were friends but Dan had developed a crush on him again. They never talked about the kiss on the grass when Phil was still with Eli. Although they had dated before, this time would be different. When they were younger, they both had the same level of experience, the same level of nervousness and similar problems. That is, they both had to deal with large families, working parents and just the general ick of being fifteen. At nineteen, they were completely different people. Phil had had a few boyfriends. Phil had had sex. Phil had a life Dan didn’t really know about. They talked about the past, Phil mentioning the friends he had made after the move. But despite knowing the details of Phil’s new life, Dan still felt left out.

He pressed the 2 on the touch screen and saw Phil’s name come up as he was the person assigned to that number and called. Dan had missed a huge chunk of his life and he didn’t want to waste any more time. Cara turned around and smirked just as Phil picked up and Dan smiled back at her, silently thanking her.

“Hey. So you know how I’m going to Spain for holiday?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re invited if you wanna come.”

“That’s amazing! Are you serious? You’re not kidding?” he asked excitedly.

“No, my family has a villa right on the beach so we have more than enough room.”

“Dan, tell him he doesn’t have to worry about the plane fare either. It’s nothing really,” Samantha piped in.

“Did you hear that?”

“Yeah. I can’t wait! When are you leaving?

“End of July. We’re staying for two weeks.”

“I’ll tell my parents and let you know if I can go. They sometimes have me working during the summer at Dad’s shop.”

“Right. Let me know. I’d really like it if you came. Alana will be there too.”

“I’d love to come. I’ll call you back alright?”

“You better.”

He hung up, smiling at the end screen of the call with Phil’s icon smiling back. He looked up and Cara was smirking in the mirror.

“ _Dan…_ ”

“Shut up, Cara!”

——————

Later back at their house, Dan was tackled to the ground by his brothers. They had missed him and that was their way of showing it. He went upstairs with Gabe so they could unpack and he mentioned inviting Phil on their family holiday.

“What do you mean he’s coming with us?!” Gabe asked angrily.

“I invited him to _Casita_.”

“Yes, I understand that part but what about him cheating on you?”

“He didn’t cheat on me. It was all a big misunderstanding.”

“There was no misunderstanding. He came on to me.”

“You were drunk and he thought that he was kissing me. A lot of things went wrong that night.”

Cara’s party was still the talk of the town even five years after it had happened. There was alcohol, drugs and a strange unidentifiable substance that stained the living room carpet. The mothers were in another city, attending a conference so the oldest children threw a party. Cara who was just finishing high school invited ten people over for a small get together. One hundred people showed up when word got around. Within hours, the Howell children were all plastered and little Adriano ran to the neighbor’s house out of fear. Cara told him to stay upstairs but he got scared. The woman living next door called the police and their parents. Cara took all the blame but they were all punished.

“Is that what he told you? Why didn’t you tell me this when it happened?”

“I guess I forgot. Please don’t hate him. He didn’t mean to kiss you. I believe him when he says he thought it was me.”

“Fine, but if he tries anything I’m gonna kill him.”

“Are you trying to defend my honor?”

“I’m older one here so I have to look out for you.”

“You’re only older by 62 seconds.”

“Therefore, 62 seconds smarter! And you’re walking around with my face. We have to keep up the reputation.”

Dan shook his head and laughed. “Thanks for caring so much.”

“Of course. You’re my brother. I love you, mate.”

“Love you too.”

———

“You can’t just leave us here to rot for the summer!” Ophelia yelled at him. Phil was used to her drama and just ignored her as she and his sisters tried to convince his parents to make him stay home.

“He’s old enough to make his own decisions. Phil, if you want to go on holiday with Dan, we’re okay with it. It’s so nice that after all these years, you are friends again. We’ll manage without you.”

“I’ll call him now.”

Phil got up from the sofa leaving his mother to deal with the trio. He went into his room, which was the smallest in the house, and called Dan back, smiling at the picture Dan had chosen himself. It was a selfie they had taken on night with both of their faces contorted in strange ways.

“Hi! Guess what?”

“You can go?!”

“Yes. My sisters are upset with me because I’m never home anymore but they’ll just have to find a way to survive.”

“I guess they will. So…?”

“So?”

“We might have to share a room.”

“It’s not like we haven’t done it before.”

“Right…”

“Dan, is there something else you wanted to tell me?”

“Me? No! Nothing.”

“O-kay. I’ll talk to you later then,” Phil said stiltedly.

“Bye.”

Phil ended the call and heard a knock at his door. “Come in,” he called.

“Hey,” Tania said softly, stepping into the room.

“I’m going.”

“I know. I know. That’s not what I wanted to talk about. Well, it’s not the main focus—what the hell happened to Eli? I haven’t heard anything about him in months.”

“We broke up.”

“When?!”

“December?”

“You don’t remember? What’s going on, Phil? I don’t know anything about you anymore.”

“We just didn’t see the point in going any further. I wasn’t in love with him and he didn’t like that.”

“Did he meet Dan? Is that what happened?”

“Yes, but—“

“You were probably all starry-eyed over him and clinging to him like a lost pup.”

“I was not!”

“Phil… you never got over him and Eli must have figured it out. Now, my question is: does Dan know that you’re still into him?”

“I don’t know. Why am I talking about this with you? You’re still in high school!”

“You used to tell me everything. What’s changed Phil?”

“Nothing’s changed. I just don’t see the need to tell everyone everything.”

“You love him.”

“No.”

“It’s okay if you do. Even if he did break your heart.”

“Stop.”

“Sorry. I’m only looking out for you.”

“I’m old enough to take care of myself.”

“I know.”

“Thanks though. Y’know… for caring so much.”

“I’m here for you. Remember that. Now, let’s talk about how freakin gorgeous he’s gotten since we moved. Good job on the face, Dan!”

“He is really hot isn’t he?”

“Yes! And his brother? How is it legal that there’s two of them?!”

Phil laughs at her and suggests, “Gabe is straight so maybe you have a chance.”

She squealed and saw the smirk on his face, “Don’t play with my feelings, Philip!”

“I’m not! He’s straight. Dan told me so.”

“Okay, when you go on holiday, you have to make sure you throw my name into a few conversations. Get him thinking about me.”

“Alright. I’ll help my little sister get a guy.”

“What else are you good for?”

“Fair enough.”

Three week later, Phil was on his way to Spain with the boy he was completely in love with.

————-

 

# Chapter Four

They had arrived around noon in front of a beautiful white house, perched on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean.

“Where are we?” Phil asked in awe.

“Welcome to _Casita_ ,” Dan told him, opening the door and sliding out of the van. The air was warm but the sea breeze cooling and calming. The sky was clear except for few clouds in the distance. From the driveway, Phil saw the private beach, white sand sprawled out for miles. He saw the well-manicured lawns and the gazebo that sat by the koi pond off to the side in a small garden. The place was spectacular.

“¡Bienvenida, mis angelitos!”

An older woman came out of the house waving from the wrap around veranda and ran to the kids who shouted variations of “Hi, grandma.” When she finally reached them she gave all her grandchildren a hug, pinching Gabe’s cheeks because he greeted her in Spanish, which she had always wanted them to learn.

“¿Quiénes son, Daniel?” she asked gesturing to the blonde girl and the tall black haired boy standing behind them, staying out of the family moment.

“These are my friends, Abuela. This is Alana and this is Phil.”

“Hello! Welcome to my home.”

“Gracias,” Alana told her.

“Ah, you speak Spanish?”

“No, Gabriel taught me on the ride over,” she laughed.

“It’s very good,” she praised her then took her into a hug. “And you are Phil?”

“Yes,” he smiled politely.

“Give me a hug! You English boys are much too shy!” she exclaimed, giving him a big hug, causing him to blush. Dan and his siblings laughed at his reaction. His parents got all the luggage out of the van and they all went into the house. On the way in, Dan’s grandmother pulled him to the side and asked, “¿Es su novio?”

“What?!” he asked for clarification.

“I know you understand me, Daniel. Is he your boyfriend?”

“No. He isn’t.”

“I would have guessed otherwise. You look at him like you want to undress him,” she laughed and patted him on the back as he looked at her with his mouth wide open. He couldn’t believe his ears. “He’s very handsome. You could do worse.”

“Abuela? What are you going to do?” He didn’t trust her as far as he could throw her.

“Nada, mi niño. Nothing at all.”

————

At one, lunch was served on the veranda. It was a simple rice dish and Phil raved about it. Dan just laughed at him. He was so excited about everything and acted like a child in a candy shop, even clapping when Dan showed him around the villa with Alana. As they were walking around, Alana watched as Dan joked and chatted with Phil, being totally caught up in him.

During the tour through the large house and the surrounding gardens, Phil had to take a bathroom break. As soon as the door shut, Alana dragged Dan out of earshot.

“You want him.”

“And?”

“Kiss him, you git!”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Do you want my help?”

“No! Don’t do anything.”

“I’m doing something,” she said resolutely, completely disregarding Dan’s pleas not to. “If I’m going to be the third wheel, I better get nice little show out of this.”

“You ship us don’t you?”

“I ship everything. You’re no exception. I knew he didn’t cheat on you. It’s Phil for Christ’s sakes. How am I going to do this? Well, we have two weeks. More than enough time, right?”

“Please, Al. Remember we have to live together next term.”

“All the better. A live-in boyfriend would be nice, right?”

Dan chuckled at the thought of having Phil whenever he wanted. He nodded in agreement and smiled. She walked back to the bathroom with Dan, getting there just as Phil opened the door. She squeaked and covered her face. Phil looked at her confusedly and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just… my feels.”

“What is she talking about?”

“Nothing. Are you guys ready to go to the beach?”

“Yes!”

When it came time to divide up the rooms, Cara shared with Alana, Adriano with Gabe and Dan was happily paired with Phil. When his mum came by to say good night, she told him, “No funny business.”

“ _Mum_!”

“I’m not kidding.” Elena kissed him goodnight and Dan shut the door. They had the door to the verandah wide open to the let the sea air in and Phil was sitting on the chair outside, not really paying attention to much of anything.

“Hey Phil,” he greeted him, sitting down in the bench across from him.

“It’s pretty here.”

“You said that ten times already.”

“That’s because it’s true! I love everything. The beach, the weather, everything.”

“That’s good,” he smiled, a sigh of longing leaving his mouth.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Um… nothing really. Mostly you.”

“What do you think of me?” he asked which a little giggle.

“Phil, I-I wish I hadn’t broken up with you all those years ago. I never really moved on and –”

“Neither did I. I’m happy we’re friends again though.”

Friends. Was that all he wanted to be? If Dan were smart he would ask him about that last statement. Dan would ask him if he thought about him as much he did in the past three years. But Dan had a lapse in judgment and told Phil, “I’m happy too.” He went to bed shortly after.

At the same time, Phil was kicking himself for saying he was happy they were friends. He wasn’t happy about them being friends at all. He wanted to be more with him. But two weeks passed and nothing had changed.

On their second to last night there, Alana devised a plan. With the help of Cara, who also thought they belonged together, Alana set up romantic date for them. The only thing was neither of knew they were going on one. At around eight that evening, Cara grabbed a picnic basket, a blanket while Alana took some candles from the guest rooms and they set off for the beach.

Sun dancing on the water, ready to set and it was the perfect time to set the plan in motion. It wasn’t really much of a plan. But it worked.

Around 8:45 exactly, Alana told Dan that Phil had gone to the beach looking for him. Dan asked, “Why would he do that? We’re just in the lounge together.”

“I don’t know. I saw him going down there and he said he was looking for you.”

“Alright, I’ll go get him. He’s like a child sometimes.” She smiled and shooed him away. As she saw him go down the walkway, she ran around the verandah looking for Phil. She found him in the living room and told him, “Oh, Dan’s looking for you. He went down to the beach.”

“Really? Wh—“

“No time for questions! Go and get him before it gets dark!” she took him by the arm and pulled him outside.

“Okay, okay. No need to be pushy. I’ll get him.”

“Good!” she squealed, frightening him a bit.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes! Go and get him.”

Phil walked down the path to the beach, looking back to every now and again to make sure Alana was actually okay. She was acting very strange. Usually she was quiet and some might even say shy. Of course, when she was around friends, she was all laughs and giggles but this was new. Phil never saw her this way, jumping with excitement and quite frankly acting like she had just lost her mind.

Dan had gotten to the beach a few minutes earlier and saw the blanket laid out on the sand, the candles lit and glowing. He immediately thought it was his parents doing. It was the kind of thing that his mothers would do for each other. He tilted his head and took into the perfection of the idea, thinking maybe he’ll use it on a certain boy he loved.

“Dan?” he heard from behind and knew it was Phil.

“Hey, I was looking for you. Al said you were on the beach.”

“She told me the same thing.”

“Now, it makes sense.”

“What?” Phil looked around and saw the picnic on the beach. “Is this for us?”

“I think so. She’s hell bent on getting us back together.”

“It’s beautiful…”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She did all this work, why don’t we take advantage of it?”

“Good idea.”

They sat down on the blanket and opened the basket which had that very same rice dish they had eaten on the first day, a bottle of wine and strawberry shortcake.

Picking up the bottle from the ice bucket and uncorking it, Dan said, “Abuela must have helped her with this. No. It was probably Cara.”

“Probably. She’s been giving me weird looks all day. And I thought my sisters were a bit off.”

“Phil?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think this is crazy?”

“The picnic on the beach or us?”

“Pick.”

“No, I don’t. It’s nice.”

“What about us?”

“That’s nice too,” he admitted softly, looking out onto the sea where sun was sinking away bit by bit. Dan and Phil ate their meal in quiet and stayed on the beach until the stars shone brightly and the candles surrounding them started to flicker as they lost their wick. It was when Dan spoke that Phil realized how much he’d missed his voice and his thoughts.

“My parents got married on this beach. Pretty romantic huh?”

“Yeah,” he agreed wistfully. He sat up on the blanket and sighed. “Should we head back inside?”

“No,” Dan whispered.

“We can’t stay here all night. It’s starting to get chilly.”

“Phil, kiss me.”

“Huh?”

“Kiss me. Kiss me on the beach, under the starlight and with only the sounds of the sea to interrupt us!” he demanded.

“Whoa…” Phil couldn’t mistake that logic. The night was perfect, the atmosphere was perfect and lastly, Dan was flawless. “When you put it that way…”

“Shut up!” Dan pulled him closer, crashing their lips together. Phil was so surprised that he fell on top of him but he didn’t care. He kissed deeper, titling his head to allow better access to Dan’s open lips. Their tongues danced together, pushing and gliding against the other and their hands—their hands couldn’t find a place to settle. Dan’s finally decided on Phil’s back pockets and Phil moving back and forth between stroking Dan’s thick brown hair and his face, caressing him. Phil broke the kiss when he heard someone coming down the path and calling for them.

“Daniel? Dondé esta?”

“Phil? Dan?”

“It’s my mum and grandma. We should…”

“Yeah,” Phil whispered back and moved reluctantly off Dan. They blew out the remaining flames on the candles, picked up the basket and blanket and took the alternate path up to the house.

By the time his mother and grandmother back to the house they were in their separate beds, faking sleep. However, as soon as they heard, “Shhh. They’re asleep,” the door closing and voices fading as Elena walked away, Dan was in Phil’s bed, kissing him again, this time his hands knew exactly where to go.

“Be my boyfriend?” Dan mumbled on his lips.

“I’ve got nothing else to do,” he giggled.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr  
> [dannihowell](https://danni-howell.tumblr.com/)


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